U.S. Pat. No. 8,006,828 (owned by Keith Manufacturing Co. of Madras, Oreg.) describes a reciprocating floor slat conveyor system that has a series of moving floor slats spaced apart by fixed slats. This is one of many configurations for conveyor systems of this type. In the '828 patent, as an example, the reciprocating slat has an inverted “V” shape with a “peak” at the top of the reciprocating slat. Some conveyor figurations have a more “flat” profile, with one slat immediately adjacent the next—which creates a more or less uniform load bearing floor. Either configuration is capable of conveying a load via reciprocating movement of the slats.
Different slat configurations are often linked to the type of load the conveyor system is designed to handle. These systems are often built into truck trailers, or the like, and used to unload bulk materials in lieu of a hydraulic lift.
A reciprocating floor conveyor built into a trailer, as an example, will “inch” the load off the trailer's back-end. This is usually done by moving all of the reciprocating floor slats outward at the same time (relative to the end of the trailer), thus moving the entire load a short distance; and then sequentially retracting a lesser number of slats that have insufficient friction with the load to pull the load back during the retraction sequence. Systems of this kind were described in the '828 patent, as well as U.S. Pat. Nos. Re35,022; 5,350,054; 6,409,009; and 5,044,870; all of which are incorporated herein by reference, as teaching examples, for the purpose of providing an underlying disclosure of the typical workings of reciprocating slat conveyor systems.
The present invention relates to what happens at the very end of the reciprocating floor slat as the load falls out of the trailer. This is a high-wear area for reasons that would be known in the art. The present invention provides improved protection for the ends of the floor slats.